Setting the Guidelines
by easternfront
Summary: Blaine and Adam meet for the first time. Santana is there to nudge this meeting ahead in her own ways and Adam is there trusting Kurt.


It's was unusually hot day for April and people were starting to shed layers which in Santana's mind was so not OK considering with some of the wobbling and jittering going on in front of her eyes. More to cover the flab the less sad it would be for her.

She however was more dolled up for her own good after that god awful spring storm, which had forced her to return to sneakers because her toes were freezing off in her pumps. She was for the first time wearing a beautiful top, without a jacket, with luxurious mini and killer heels she'd had to actually work for since mom had more often checked the purchase places in her credit card statement.

In her words:  
"There's too many Neiman's visiting in your statement love."

She had made extra sure her assets were more than ready for observation and admiration and thanked Victoria's Secret being one of the stores her mom had no problem seeing on her credit card. Not that the men she was currently following would know any better.

The reason she was running after The Hardy Boys was yet quite unclear to her. It had something to do with Adam offering to pay for the lunch and Kurt wanting her opinions about some high heels or bags or something. She didn't always pay attention what spewed out of Kurt's mouth, especially after they had had an "altercation" about Kurt's hair products which she liked to use. They were fabulous on her hair, even though she would have preferred if Kurt had a little coarser structure to his hair which would make the products he used even more suitable for her own locks.

Apparently it was not OK to finish a bottle of hairspray or shampoo without replacing it with the same stuff, not just something out of the corner store she had time to run for. Well, she had found out that just this morning and had at a panic promised to tail these two swans on their _fabulous_ day at the NYADA.

Sure she'd been in NYADA before but it wasn't the first place she'd find her spending time at. She felt the chill of the air-conditioner hitting her skin when they stepped inside the modernised hall of the school. And how rude of the boys to leave her to wait here like deserted life boat. Rude, but admittedly that's exactly what she would have done. There was nothing here to tempt her interest and if they were not going to be back in a minute she'd be out the door parading the sunny New York.

She winked at the big burly security guy leaning at the doorway and felt proud she could still swing the lowest neanderthals of the male sex. She leaned against the closest railing and bent over it just slightly so that the hem of her skirt would rise up nicely, just under the butt. Well, it could be considered as a charity since the students here seemed all to look like they were ripped from Orphan Annie or some other gay show she wasn't paying attention to. Little wiggle of the hip and the man would soon have to run for cover. She was about to turn her head over her shoulder and wink away...

"What are you doing here Miss Lopez?" familiar voice came from behind her.  
Sudden interruption made her turn swiftly and almost topple over on the stone flooring:  
"Hobbit? What are _you_ doing here?"  
"I was in for my audition, surely you're not...wait are you?"  
"Aah..."

So that's why Hummel had wanted to just quicky make a dash for his notes. The Hobbit had landed at the same destination and he must have known about it. This was interesting. She pulled back her composure:  
"I don't think they need or even want me here. So the future star, think you aced it?"  
"I don't know. They'll let me know in a month."  
"Ooh your frown line is showing. Was it thouger than you thought?"  
"Yeah, yeah it was."  
"So cute." she leaned down a bit and pinched Blaine's cheek. "You'll fit right in this Shire and Elf Land."  
"Stop it." Blaine swatted her hand away. For a brief moment Santana felt a small pinch of guilt for always tormenting Blaine for his shortness but then her grudges set back in. Why was she blackmailed to join the The Hardy Boys today: because of Kurt. And why was Kurt avoiding Blaine: oh yes the man had cheated the Lady. She could play with this. She could:  
"Alright. Let me make it up for you and join us for lunch. I didn't know you were at town, nobody tells me things."

Blaine was smiling. The silly little fool. This was going to be epic and so easy. She could see Adam and Kurt descending the stairs behind Blaine:  
"We may have company, but you don't mind friends right."  
"No, no. I'd love to meet new people living here...I mean if I get in."  
"Well...new people..._A_ new person. Adam! Why don't we take that lunch first! We can do work later!" She was purposely shrieking so that the echo filled the entire hall.

She was at the slight advantage of seeing both Blaine's and Kurt's face before they finally came into realisation of each others. Blaine was quicker to catch her smirk and was now even more crinkly faced than ever. Adam was in a heat of discussion with Kurt and swung his arm casually as they were approaching as if trying to dismiss this loud mouthed latina...that smug...Kurt's face went from being previously intrigued at what Adam was talking about first to shock and then to a full panic mode in a matter of seconds and Santana was loving it. There was no way he could now back away from this imminent collision and Santana was now turning tense Blaine around.

The party of four stood still for those few extra awkward seconds that would have been felt by the most moronic, insensitive person in the world. Kurt's eyes were as large as saucers and Adam had pulled front his plastic charm smile. Santana couldn't quite catch Blaine face because he was trying to do some sort of facial hiding by rubbing his brows.

"Right Adam, you promised me a lunch and surely you don't mind an old friend of _mine_ joining us?"  
"N..no. No, not at all..."  
She was smiling so hard it hurt her cheeks:  
"Adam this..."  
"...is Blaine! Blaine this is Adam." Kurt's voice broke down at the highest point of the shriek that was just as impressive as hers had been. His knuckles were gleaming white while holding his satchel.

Adam leaned in a bit with his arm stretch out in front of Blaine. Blaine took a big swing with his arm and shook the brits hand as if he was going to tear it off. That was interesting...The Hobbit obviously must have instantly had an inkling of who Adam was. She was impressed by the little man. The two men were now holding hands even after the shaking part had been concluded.

Adam was the first to pull his hand away and casually placed it around Kurt's shoulders. As much as Santana would have liked this to have been a sign of dominance and ownership it was something the two often did in front of everyone. What however happened next wasn't something she had expected to see.

Kurt stepped quickly ahead and gave Blaine a strong hug. The type of hug that Santana had felt only once coming from him. The Slushie Hug as she had started to call it in her mind. It had been one of the best hugs she'd ever had...well coming from the cute little kitten like Kurt. She heard Kurt whisper something to Blaine's ear and she was almost ready to kick herself for Kurt's ability to mess every plan she'd ever made against him.

Kurt pulled away form the hug and held Blaine at an arms distance and smiled:  
"It's good to see you."  
And as if that hug had been nothing but a brief intermission he retreated back into Adam's side and wrapped Adam's arm back around him now on his waist. The koala had returned to the tree. Santana was stunned and didn't find words:  
"So...so the lunch."  
"Yes let's go to that bistro we like. I know you promised to pay so let's not go overboard." Kurt patted Adam's chest and smiled at Santana and Blaine.

* * *

The bistro was full of people and it was hot. His t-shirt was beginning to cling to his armpits and sides. Trying to find a table to seat four people had proven to be a difficult task. He'd already lugged two chairs from way across the room and was now blocked by this giant man trying to squeeze into a small space between the tables. From here he could see that Santana was leaning against Kurt and pushing him to sit next to Blaine but Kurt kept watching for Adam who was out to get the drinks.

He was unable to do nothing but wait with the drinks tray and watch as the three friends were doing the oddest chair dance ever. She was swinging around as if all three vacant chairs would have just been painted and Kurt clinged on to that same chair he'd been left holding when Adam had left for the drinks. Blaine was sitting silently in his chair, arms neatly folded in his lap as if a child waiting for his parents to end arguing. Blaine was looking down and seemed like he was reading the tablemat that stated the bistro's infamous past as a gansters luching venue, which Adam was sure was from a copy-writers pen.

Blaine had dark hair, incredibly dark black hair that was slicked back to form this neat and compact look. Every item on him screamed of posh, polite boy from the country club that Adam had grown up with. Maybe that was one of the reasons he himself didn't look like a posh boy from the country manor because the suaveness irritated him. Granted the man, boy he was correcting himself, was here for an audition so nothing precisely wrong with tidying up for that kind of occasions. Somehow he still had the feeling this isn't the only reason Blaine was polished and compact like this, this boy was perhaps the ever dapper speciment all the time.

He'd known something was up with the second he had seen Santana smiling at him. She never did that. Once Blaine had turned around and Kurt had tensed he had known who the boy was. He had known this moment was inevitable but it had happened so soon. Kurt had just decided to move on and most importantly to move on with him. All he knew was that Kurt was severly hurt after something Blaine had done and for some reason the strenght of first love was still having a strong hold of him.

He noticed that the big man had found somewhat comfortable place to sit and he could move on with the drinks.  
"What took you so long?!" Kurt was smiling.  
He set the tray down to the table and pulled out one of the chairs:  
"Didn't neither of you find it in your hearts to offer the lady a seat?"  
Santana smiled and gingerly sat down:  
"Thank you." was said with the sincerity of an hemorrhoid patient.  
Adam moved over to Kurt and repeated the action for Kurt who swatted Adams hand pulled out his own chair.

Once they were all seated he beat Santana to the punch and was the first one talking:  
"So who did you have at your audition?"  
Blaine was startled that Adam was addressing him and smiled back.  
"Oh, there was Mr. Coulson and Miss July and this very tall grey haired woman..."  
"Mrs. Hepwoth. Terrifying woman. I have her elocution classes. I wonder why she's taken up sitting at the auditions? See she usually doesn't want to have anything to do with the students." Adam laughed.

Kurt took a sip from his huge iced tea.  
"What song did you do then? Did you go with something from West Side?"  
"Yeah. Something's Coming. I thought since I did so well at the..." Blaine grabbed a napkin and suddenly stopped: "yeah, Something's Coming. They did want me to do another number though. Without backup. I guess they wanted to put the applicants into a real test. I did The One That Got Away."  
"I don't know that song. Where is it from?" Adam was squinting.  
Kurt placed a hand on his arm:  
"It's Katy Perry. Blaine likes her."  
"You sang Katy Perry a cappella infront of Hepwoth? Wow, you've got guts." _More like nuts if I'm honest._

Blaine was now focused solely on Kurt and Adam felt there was nothing he could say right now. He pondered whether he could play the possessive new boyfriend but somehow thought it would be disrespectful for both Kurt and Blaine, although he didn't care a damn about this sweater vested preppy sitting in front of him. Instead he laid his hand on top of Kurt's and smiled:  
"Well you'll know if your tactics worked in a month or so. I remember my first time waiting was horrific. I don't wish that for anyone. Second time it was easier."  
"Wait, you got in at your second try?" Kurt was now looking at him.

"Yeah, haven't I told you? I don't think I was even a genuine candidate at the first time. I was so nervous, jittering all over the stage when a auditioned."  
"Really? I remember well my first one, but not the Winter Show Case. Not a zitch before the applause. Must have been on a autopilot."  
"And that autopilot was gorgeous. You two should have seen it. Magnificent. All these old grumpy critics and alumni getting up for Kurt."  
"Rachel got a standing O as well."  
"Well they knew she was Carmen's presentation but you were a genuine pearl."

Blaine's face was turning whiter by the time the busy waiter brought their dishes. Santana was eyeing her phone and clicked her red nail against the table and complained that the salad she had ordered didn't have the dressing on the side but weaved her hand when the waiter offered to bring another one but that it would take more than ten minutes. Adam was pleased with what was going on: Kurt's shoulders were beginning to relax, Blaine was squirming in his seat and Santana had quit her original plan, until the she opened her mouth again:  
"Blainey I do think you should have back-up schools. You do have a back-up plan right?"  
"Yes as a matter of fact I do."  
"Tell me more." Santana banged her phone back to the table and stabbed her salad with such aggression that a loose olive flew to the table. "I hear you're going to dribble towards New York with any of your choices."

"How do you..." Blaine laid his eye to her phone. "Yes, me and Tina both have NYU as a backup. She's bound to get in at the Drama department and I..."  
"Yes a friend of mine goes to NYU, she likes it there. You should definitely come to New York anyway. Only losers stay at Lima." Santana was cutting in.  
Kurt was amused:  
"What friend of yours could possibly be going to NYU. I haven't seen you with anyone since you moved here. No matter how much you natter about me and Rachel you do end up spending an awful lot of time with us though."  
Santana hummed:  
"Well, I don't have to bring people all the way to Bushwick for me to "shag" them." She was air quoting towards Adam. "and Porcelain I don't mind that the double sided partition curtain doesn't do it's job and dampen the sounds so I'm thinking that I'm doing you and Rachel a favor for not introducing some of my lady friends to you. I'm just wondering why _you_ haven't shattered yet, considering the things I hear all the time."

Blaines fork and knive made a screeching sound against the plate and Adam grabbed his coke to swallow a bit of pasta that was about to go down the wrong way. This was not going to happen now:  
"Santana, why don't you let Blaine tell about his choices. I'd like to hear them."  
Kurt was shaking his right leg that was resting over his other knee. The edge of his shoe was forming a steady rythym against Adam's leg and with flushed cheeks he turned towards Blaine:  
"So, NYU. Music or Theatre?"

" Both. Yeah, they are one of the best, and well, yeah."  
"That's great." Santana popped her fork out of her mouth "But NYADA is still NYADA right?"  
"Yeah I guess it's my first choice."  
"I thought so since Kurt and Rachel are there. You and Rachel can once again pull together your awesome duo of plaid skirts and bow ties. Am I right Kurt or am I right?"  
Kurt was now looking down at his plate and dabbed his mouth with a napkin.

Santana suddenly turned towards Adam:  
"See Rachel and Blaine sung us these epic duets that went straight to my heart. Day in day out I had to hear songs of love birds and rainbows sung by those two. Kurt remembers it well, don't you Kurt? Oh such happy times. Did Kurt tell you that us McKinley girls started our own show choir for awhile and we were this close to beating the New Directions."

Santana was fully concentrated to Adam:  
"Because it is hard to shine behind two light houses beaming at the front of the stage. You can imagine when choir singing turns into backup singing, it's dampens your mood see. It's quite like me having to share a team captain lead with Becky, the glory never tastes as sweet when shared."

She seemed to take a moment to glance at Kurt before she continued:  
"Come on Adam you know what it's like, being sidelined when you could have your great moment. Us artists know that very well. One year you're are the best and the next someone waltzes in and makes you his bitch again. The age old story, nobody wants that."  
"Yes I get that. What were you called?"  
"Sorry?"  
"What was your girl choir called?"  
"Trouble Tones."  
"An ample name I'm sure."  
Santana speared another poor olive to her fork and spun it in front of Adams face:  
"You have to always make a preemptive strike, or the bogey man comes and snatches your precious away...So Blaine, how's Sam?"

"Sam's fine."  
"Good, good."  
Adam was now holding Kurt's hand. His hand was clammy and he kept clenching and unclenching it. Blaine had wolfed down his pizza and was finishing his drink.

"Dad said Sam was going to work for him for the next year." Kurt suddenly spoke towards Blaine.  
Blaine's smile was wide:  
"He doesn't really get it that he should have applied to somewhere. Or maybe he does but just doesn't care. Miss Pillsbury certainly wasn't happy about it."  
"That would be so like him though." Kurt chuckled and relaxed his hand.  
Blaine's phone buzzed on the table and he answered it:  
"Hi! Yes I'm still around here. No, it went well. Don't know yet..."

Kurt looked at Adam and smiled.  
"_Are you OK_?" Adam mouthed at Kurt. He nodded back. Kurt was always full of compassion. He'd known that from the moment they met but everyday made him more aware that this man was worth his weight in gold. A Jem that he selfishly wanted for himself right now.

"...yes I'll tell her. No, tomorrow. OK. I'll call you later. Bye."  
After Blaine hung up Adam turns towards him:  
"It's been nice meeting you Blaine. You should come over when you have more time. Do you need us to guide you somewhere? Kurt's very good at that. I mean I've been in this city nearly four years but he's the real expert in finding things."  
"No, I'm supposed to, well my mom's here as well and she's going to pick me up at NYADA."  
"Tell her I said hello." Kurt smiles.  
"Always."

"So was that it boys? No armory needed? Well this turned out being one wasted afternoon."

Blaine stood up and went to grab his wallet from his jacket pocket. Adam was swaying his hand:  
"No, a deal's a deal. Lunch is on me. It was truly nice to meet you."  
"Oh, OK."  
Kurt also got up and followed Blaine out to the door. Adam watched as the two of them hugged and talked for awhile.

Santana had a surprised look on her face:  
"That doesn't bother you? Them being cosy like that?"  
"Cosy like what?"  
"Like that! Talking, touching, smiling at things you don't know about!"  
"No."  
"Come on man, he's your boyfriend. He's your man, you're not exactly acting accordingly."  
"Oh you want me to behave like a jealous asshole?"  
"Blaine can steal him away you know."  
"No he can't."  
"Oh believe me he can. He's a sneaky Hobbit."

Adam sighed:  
"No one can steal him away from me. Kurt leaves or doesn't leave if he wants to, not because someone says he has to or wants him to."  
"That's what you think."  
"Yes, that's what I choose to believe..."  
Kurt was now heading back towards them and was smiling.  
"...and that is why I love him."


End file.
